This invention relates in general to a card reader having arrangements that protect the card reader mechanism from the insertion of extraneous matter such as coins.
Card readers that accept cards which are inserted in a horizontal plane are known to include an opening at a bottom surface to divert extraneous foreign matter such as coins which might be inserted into the card receiving slot.
The type of opening provided along the bottom surface of such readers for horizontally inserted cards cannot be employed effectively for a card reader that is designed to accept cards which are inserted in a vertical plane.
One problem in these vertical card reading arrangements is that the coins or other foreign matter may hit and damage electronic components such as the IC contacts which are employed for reading the IC circuits on cards containing such.
The coins or other foreign matter may remain inside the card reader and can either be lodged at a point or built up to a point where they will damage the cards that are being inserted.
Accordingly, it is a major purpose of this invention to provide a card reader with a device that protects the reader from damage through the insertion of coins or other foreign matter.
It is a particular purpose of this invention to provide a card reader which is particularly adapted to provide such protection in designs where the card reader accepts cards that are manually inserted in a vertical plane.
It is a related purpose of this invention to provide the above objects in a simple configuration in which the unwanted foreign matters such as coins will be prevented from damaging the interior of the coin reader and will be blocked or discharged easily and with certainty.